Guide

Trip Info

On this tour you will find great emotions that accompany us throughout the tour. Tour the Carretera Austral, to stunning places like Cerro Castillo, the Wall of hand, the “dead wood” Marble Caves, Rio Baker, with its colorful and beautiful waterfalls. We enter the Patagonia Deep crossing the fjord Mitchell to conclude the first part of our trip to Villa O’Higgins, end of the Carretera Austral, yet. From there we sail to the Southern Ice Field where we visit the imposing Great Glacier (O’Higgins Glacier) – with its 820 square kilomeetres and height of 80 meters – To live an unforgettable experience. Back visit Caleta Tortel, famous for its sidewalks cypress guaitecas – one of the captive postcards Patagonia! – And then continue north to Rio Tranquilo, where we stay and we visit the Glacier Explorers (previously the marble caves were visited). Finally Coyhaique or Balmaceda airport. There are many places where you stop and take pictures, watch condors and other birds of the place, and at times meet the shy huemul, a kind of self deer in this area and is reflected in the national emblem.

Day 1:
Arrival to Balmaceda. Rent a vehicle and drive to Coyhaique. Hotel.

Day 2:
In the morning the tour starts by Coyhaique route to Cerro Castillo, with multiple viewpoints and to reach Cerro Castillo, visit the Wall of Hands. In this sector, the road begins off-road, on the way we will find beautiful scenery, diverse landscapes, including “dead wood” product Haudson Volcano ashes. After two hours, we reach the town of Río Tranquilo on the banks of General Carrera Lake. There the famous Marble Caverns, beautiful rock formations, unique in its kind, located 5 km south of the town will be visited. Continue the route to Puerto Bertrand, where we spend the night in one of the Lodge, which feature hot tubs, dinner, and of course a nice night swim in the light of the stars.

Day 3:
Leaving early, we arrive at the town of Cochrane, last major town south of Coyhaique. There we provide fuel, money (ATM) and some snack picnic on a bend in the road next to wonderful waterfalls. This tour will see the magnitude and arrive with sufficient time to take the last barge in the Mitchell Fjord. The road from Cochrane to Puerto Yungay Fjord Mitchell takes at least 2 and half hours to 3 hours and the recommendation is to arrive at least an hour early to anticipate anything unforeseen. Made the crossing by ferry, the road continues in Patagonia Deep, where you can see the remnants of the Ice Age. Arrival to Villa O’Higgins, Hotel.

Day 4-5:
One of these two days, as appropriate to schedule well equipped sailing ship L / M Quetru, the excursion “top” program, it is to navigate to the base of the imposing Great O’Higgins glacier will be made navigating the sprawling Lagos Glacier, at the base of South Patagonian Ice Fields. This glacier has a front of just over 3.5 km long and its walls exceed 80 meters in height, with an area of 820 square kilometres and 45 km longitus until its fall in the lake. During the navigation you can admire the beauty of a breathtaking landscape, the least explored of Patagonia, which owes its appearance to the passage of glaciers. Along with observing impressive mountains with ancient ice that surrounds the lake, you can experience on the face the force of cold and crisp wind that usually runs in these places where climatic conditions vary more than once along the way, from burning sun to heavy rainfall, typical of Patagonia Deep. However passengers board to the upper deck of the ship to watch and take pictures. It is a trip that lasts all day and is marked in the retinas and soul of those who come to this place, in awe of the magnificence of nature that invites you to experience freedom in its widest dimension. On the way there and back to the Great Glacier we stop at the pier Candelario Mancilla, a settlement of colonists born where a road leading to the border with Argentina and then continues on a path to trek to the north end of Lake desert. From there you can take a ship to the other end and then a shuttle to the town of El Chalten Fitz Roy facing Mount. (If you have time we recommend you spend 3 days to go and return to El Chalten). During the other day in Villa O’Higgins you can make half-day trips to meet with the unspoiled nature of the area: trekking to the viewpoint of Lake Deer, exploration Christie Lake closer to the Mayer step in the border with Argentina, visit church built by the missionary Father Antonio Ronchi in a forest. In addition you can perform various other activities such as touring the town of Villa O’Higgins visiting the Museum, the Library, the Civic Center, etc., up to the Mirador del Valle (and far Mosco Glacier), perform various bike rides places, and other adventures like fishing in nearby lakes or rivers.

Day 6:
Starting early in the morning with the idea of crossing the first barge at 11:00 Hrs. and come to lunch to Caleta Tortel. Visit this picturesque town where the whole place runs through gateways built with guaiteca’s cypress. In the afternoon we recommend continuing along the Southern Road to Port Río Tranquilo where waits Hotel.

Day 7:
In the morning there are two alternative activities. One is to visit the Marble Cathedrals if it was not possible the first time, or up to Valley Prospectors and make the trek to the glacier of the same name. Lunch in Port Río Tranquilo and afternoon continue to the city of Coyhaique and Host.

Day 8:
In the morning tour the city and in the evening board the plane back, making delivery of the vehicle at the airport.